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Anyone used a known donor?

I am a newbie. I was wondering if anyone has had experience using a known sperm ?

Myself and my husband are looking into DI. However we are keeping all our options open. We are considering doing IUI or AI with a known donor.

However when I use the word "known Donor" This could be a donor who we have just recently met.

I have my worries about this though esp with health checks STI's etc. I am aware that you can go to the GUM clinic and get checked out and the donor can give you a copy of the results.

However how do you know if these results are the genuine article, and if the donor is genuine. You must be thinking if I am asking all these questions and have these doubts then why would I even consider this route. Well I have read a few success stories when using a Known donor. I have also read that some people feel more comfortable away from clinics etc.

Hi, Liz
I did, initially, consider going the route of known donor and, ultimately, decided to go the anonymous route. For me it was partly related to fears related to STI's etc, but mostly related to fears of the donor being able to turn up on my doorstep demanding legal access to his genetic child when (if) he has problems conceiving later in life. Fortunately for me, I am in a country that still does anonymous donation and the criteria applied to donor selection is pretty strict. Because it is anonymous I was also lucky enough not to have a long wait for donor sperm to come available.

I had no problem, personally, with the clinical aspect of my treatment as I know that I have fertility issues and, no matter whether I had gone the known or the anonymous route, I would have ended up needing the treatment anyhow...

Could've swore I replied to this message (along with another topic).But can't see the post any more, and I'm sure it wasn't deleted by a moderator, as I would've got a message informing me of breaking a rule.

Anyhow, I personally think that for some, it's useful having a known donor. But that's just me. Many of my recipients have asked me to stay in touch, just so their children know who their biological father is. Which to some may seem pointless, as the donor is just a supplier of 40MegaBytes of DNA. But to others (which may include your donor-conceived children), it may be more of an issue.

Of course using a known donor, doesn't necessary mean inviting the donor around to yours, and using the turkey baster method. You could just find a known donor, get to know them a little, and then go the clinic with them and do things via 'traditional' channels. Descriptions of donors at the clinic can be misleading as A) You don't know what the donor looks like, and B) The donor can lie about themselves in the description, the clinic won't verify that you're 6ft tall, that you're "good looking", or that you've a mental or physical problem, other than what you tell them you have (only things they'll check is that you're STD clean, and have been screened for CF).

At the end of the day, it depends what you're looking for, everyone is different. What works for one person isn't necessarily going to work for someone else. This is from experience, and also my humble opinion.

This post has been edited 1 times, last edit by "Exotic_DNA" (Oct 26th 2011, 1:05pm)

Hi, All
Sorry - I mucked up. Moved the post but then did not have a chance to move it back. In order to avoid confusion I am not going to restore the original post as the new one above covers it all.

It is actually refreshing to see things from the point of view of the donor rather than the recipient and, I think, ExoticDNA is the first person to come forward as a sperm donor. We have previously had a few egg donors looking for information and also a few people sharing their eggs during the IVf process.

I have to agree with what Exotic said - what works for one may not work for all and we have had a few ladies or couples opting for the known/open donor route. It is what they felt was right for them and they were happy with their decisions. In fact we have had a number of successful treatments with known donors and some gorgeous babies as a result...

A gentle reminder to all that, while we welcome new views and new insights into both donor and recipient, we are not able to allow advertising of donor services. Should any party (member or otherwise) contact any FZ user either requesting or offering donor services the moderators would need to be informed of such.